Producer Abhigyan Jha, who has written films like Krishna Cottage and created shows like Movers & Shakers, Jay Hind!, Qubool Hai 2.0, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, and Janani – AI Ki Kahani, to name some, and is currently headlining Fsex – The Free Speech Experiment, was saddened by the news of the Pahalgam terrorist attack that happened on April 22, where 26 tourists were killed and several were left injured. However, he believes that such attacks will only stop if Islam modernises and evolves.

He said, “My initial reaction to the attack was ‘not again!’. That’s the first thing that comes up, particularly when it happens in Kashmir, or if it were to ever happen in Bombay again. I remember after 26-11, there was a massive march that happened, a very spontaneous march that saw a gathering of two lakh people, and not one bad thing happened. No one did anything violent. It was one of the most amazing things to see. From celebrities to the common public, there were some Muslim, Jain, and Parsi organizations that had come only for the love for the city that people have and the amount of suffering that it went through, especially the Taj Hotel, which is so dear to everyone. It’s not a hotel. It’s a landmark.“

“So, Kashmir is like that. It’s one of the most beautiful places in North India. It’s a fundamental part of our civilization. The Saraswati River flows through Kashmir. The Sharda Peeth is in Kashmir. It is not just some frontier of India’s civilization; it is the core. A lot of people try to downplay that and try to project that it’s a Muslim majority place. But no, it’s core to our civilization,” he added.

He further stressed that the country keeps getting attacked and wounded again and again and pointed out that none of the countries have been wounded as much as India has been. He said, “Throughout history, people kept wounding us again and again. And the highest amount of wounds has been inflicted by Islam. I keep telling everyone for once, the framing has to be
changed. Some people say there is no problem in Islam, but some Muslims are a problem. But I feel Islam is the problem. It’s not the Muslims. People are always venting it out on the Muslims. That’s not the cure. The cure is to cure Islam.”

“Islam has issues. There is an entire section of Islam that needs to be just deleted. Like we deleted Sati because it had become a menace. Hindus have always been criticized for untouchability. Not everybody practiced untouchability. It was a small section of Indians who did that. But it was removed. All religions have had things that are to be apologized for, and all religions have had things that they needed to delete,” he added.

Abhigyan believes that religion should not be mixed with law. He said that is the number one rule of secular life. He said, “Religion has no place in the law. So, that means Sharia is out. Why is Kafir out? Because no person is above any other person. Kafir means you are looking down on another person. If you don’t allow anybody to call a ‘chamar,’ why do you allow Muslims to call Hindus Kafir? Why is that not a hate crime? So, Kafir has to be outlawed. No one is a Kafir, and all Muslims have to teach their children that nobody is a Kafir. You are not above anyone. All Hindus are being taught that. All Christians are being taught that. No Muslim is being taught that. So, you have to remove that and delete that.”

“Then there is Jihad. If in one portion of the Quran, Jihad means fighting the war within
yourself. Fine, but what about the other part where it clearly says about infidels? So, again, it’s related to Kafir. If there is no Kafir, then there is no Jihad. If Jihad is within yourself, then talk about Jihad at home. You cannot bring out and talk about Jihad outside. So, outlaw Jihad also. Any talk of jihad means you go to jail for life. If these rules are brought, the problem will be solved. UAE is cleaning up. Saudi Arabia is cleaning up. Saudi Arabia has taken the lead in changing its laws. In Saudi Arabia, you cannot protest for Hamas; if you protest for Hamas, you go to jail. But in India, people are still doing it,” he added.

However, he believes that things are starting to look better, if not in India, then in other countries at least, and he is hopeful India will follow them soon. He said, “Some sense has started prevailing. Islam has not been modernized for 100 years. It needs to catch up. We have got too much progress that has happened in the world, but Islam hasn’t progressed. They need to do it now,” he ended.